I liken my 43-day/42-night travel odyssey to Southeast Asia –Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia - to running a marathon road race. The official marathon distance is 42.15 KM (26.2 miles), which coincidentally matches the total number of nights of my trip.

Believe me, I know what I’m talking about having completed six marathons over the years. Like running a marathon, I started out a bit fast out of the gate – during my first 5 nights in Bangkok, I was ripping and running. Leaving Thailand’s hectic capital city, I found a nice running rhythm as I continued to Northern Thailand.

As usual, I had to negotiate some rather steep hills and obstacles along the way, but I persevered and got through them relatively unscathed. However the reality of changing hotels 15 times in 42 nights eventually caught up with me.

By the time I completed 75% of my trip on Day 32 (comparable to reaching the 19 mile mark in the marathon), I hit the proverbial wall. On that day, I transferred by ferry from Penang in Malaysia to the popular beach resort of Langkawi.

Hitting the beach, I was totally fatigued and I dozed off, but I had to dig down deep inside to get ready for the next day’s return journey to Thailand. From Langkawi, I traveled with 30 other tourists on an oversized speedboat to Koh Lipe, a distance of 30 maritime kilometers. The journey took about 75 minutes.

As I near the tail end of my arduous travel odyssey, I have finally found my 2nd wind in Koh Lipe, a rather small, relatively obscure island in Southern Thailand’s Satun Province. During my remaining days on the island (through December 27), I will be preparing travel stories, anecdotes and insights for publication in Calypso Island Chronicles.

Returning to Bangkok on December 27th for my final three nights in Thailand, I am geared up for a furious kick to the finish line. Yes my friends, the end is in sight and after all is said and done, the whole trip/race will have been worth it!

In retrospect, running an actual Marathon is a lot easier than this Travel Marathon

I met Mah Jong and his colleague, Kah Ching at Phu Lang Ka Resort in rural Northern Thailand. They are somewhat typical of dogs of the rural area – average height with short yellow hair and a somewhat stocky build. To be honest with you, the typical Thai dog is somewhat drab in appearance.

Traveling throughout Thailand, I have seen so many look-alikes among the dogs in the countryside – one wonders if they are all related as Thai people don’t believe in getting their dogs fixed and the females have such large litters. As pets, the stereotypical Thai mutt do not cost more than 1 baht – in other words they are free for the asking.

Mah Jong and Kah Ching are not pets of Kevan, the owner of Phu Lang Ka or any of this employees – these Thai pooches belong to some of Kevan’s neighbors. During the height of the tourist seasons which last from November – February, they can be seen hanging around Phu Lang Ka Lodge for most of the day, going from table to table looking for food, eating the many leftovers from the guest’s meals.

Unlike Jah Thep (Kevan’s dog) who is a very civilized, sweet and obedient dog, these mutts are professional freeloaders or moochers. Mah Jong and his cohort do not provide any valuable service to the owner such as extra security i.e.watch dogs nor do they really mingle with the guests like Jah Thep. You’d think that these dogs would at least bark when a stranger approaches – not these mutts!

And when the season is over and the food supply dries up, these pooches disappear and go elsewhere

To be honest with you, I have never seen a better-fed doggie than Mah Jong. On my first night at there, I saw him down the leftovers from a large grilled fish, Thai soup, rice and greens from one table, then he went to another table to devour some more leftovers.

Depending upon how you look at it, I guess Mah Jong and Kah Ching can be considered professional recyclers or seasonal busboys.

I am a frequent traveler to THAILAND. When traveling outside of Bangkok, I often stay at a local guesthouse rather than a conventional hotel. Besides saving some monies, staying in a guesthouse allows me to sample the local flavor and it is a more conducive environment for meeting fellow travelers. In addition, the informal, carefree ambiance of most guesthouses suits my personality better than the somewhat stiff and fabricated environment of many traditional hotels. Guesthouses are usually small family run affairs – ranging from no frills hostels with simple dormitory like accommodations and shared bathroom facilities (popular with the young backpacker crowd) to the luxury “boutiquish” affair with amenities comparable to a small hotel (popular with the older crowd and families). As they say different strokes for different folks!

In Bangkok, the greatest number of guesthouses and hostels are located on or near Khao San Road. Affectionately known as the tourist ghetto of Bangkok, Khao San Road is a real magnet for the young backpacker crowd from Europe. Throbbing with activity night and day, Khao San Road swarms with cafes, inexpensive restaurants, bars, Internet shops and massage parlors. Lining the sidewalks are numerous street vendors offering anything from colorful tattoos to hair braiding. A real carnival scene to the say the least! While Khao San Road has the greatest selection of guesthouses by far, you can also find some quality guesthouses in the less busy and quieter neighborhoods of Bangkok as well.

I believe that the absolute rock bottom rate for simple accommodations with shared bathrooms in a Bangkok Guesthouse is about $4-5USD, although if you stay in a guesthouse which has shared sleeping quarters, the cost is probably less. For the young tourists-backpackers from Europe who are traveling around Thailand and Southeast Asia for 1 month or more, it definitely makes senses to stay in guesthouses for most of the journey in order to stretch out the monies.

Travelfish, an authoritative online guide for the independent traveler to Southeast Asia, is an excellent source of information on guesthouses and offbeat accommodations in Bangkok and Thailand in general. Just recently, Travelfish published a wonderful article on the top 10 guesthouses in Bangkok. If you’re a backpacker or a flashpacker, or an independent traveler like myself, this article is a must read!

Tomorrow is the start of my 2 1/2 week adventure in COSTA RICA. If you’d like to follow my journey, I suggest that you subscribe to my RSS feed.

THAILAND UNDISCOVERED refers to the small, sleepy towns and villages (and out of the way places) in Thailand’s rural countryside. Far away from the craziness of Bangkok and the popular tourist meccas of Chiang Mai and Phuket, it is a side of Thailand that few tourists have visited. However this particular traveler prefers to travel off the beaten track - call me the intrepid traveler if you will!

On my most recent trip, I journeyed to Nan Province and the small mountain resort of Phu Lang Ka in Northern Thailand. Located in the northeastern half of the Golden Triangle, this region of Thailand is rich with history and natural beauty – from the mist covered valley at Phu Lang Ka to the unusual earth pillars at Sao Din in Nan Province. In addition, there a number of hilltribes that populate this rural region - from the Yao (Mien), Hmong and Khamu to the very primitive Mlabri, a nomadic forest tribe more commonly known as Spirits of the Yellow Leaf, found only in the mountains of Nan. Most importantly, this is part of Thailand which has yet to be overrun by the tourist crowd. It is truly Thailand undiscovered!

Want to learn more about Nan and Phu Lang Ka?
See my fascinating video (available in high definition)!

I really enjoyed myself in NAN, a relatively small and obscure city in Northern Thailand that few travelers have heard of. All my touring was taken care of by Fhu Travel, the most experienced tour operator in the city. Because of the scarcity of tourists in the area, I was the only participant on my two all-day excursions. Fhu Travel assigned a dedicated tour guide and driver to handle all the touring arrangements for me. Over the course of the next two days, I spent most of my time with these two gentleman who were born and raised in the area and had an opportunity to learn more about their lives. Nong, the tour guide, was a rather husky young fellow of about 25 years old who had fairly good command of the English language. Before working as a tour guide, he labored in the rice fields. He was married but his wife (and his young daughter) lived in Chiang Mai - about 5 hours away by car - where she worked as a teacher. Chaat, the driver, was a fellow in his late 30’s; like Nong, he was also married but his wife lived with him in Nan. While I was with them, both Nong and Chaat were always smiling and laughing as we often chatted about TIGERS (Thai girls).

When they talked among themselves, they spoke in their native Lanna which is somewhat different than Thai, the predominant language in Thailand. Lanna is considerably more nasal than Thai and some of the words are completely different. During my two days of touring, I sort of developed a friendship with these two gentlemen and I really enjoyed their company during the short time that we were together. When Nong talked to me, he always addressed me as Sir – I guess out of habit and respect - and I always retorted that I didn’t like to be called Sir, and pleaded with him to call me by my first name or any one of the many pet names I go by.

When we talked about TIGERS (Thai girls), both guys would become very animated, especially Chaat. Smiling and laughing, Chaat would say, “THAIgers very dangerous, eat money.” I guess this was a pet expression of his as whenever we passed by a young and attractive Thai girl, he would repeat his mantra with a big silly grin on his face “Thaigers very dangerous, eat money.” We all laughed and chuckled. Agreeing with Chaat, “I added Thaigers are very dangerous, but Farang gals more dangerous (and more expensive) yet.”

At the end of the 2nd day of touring, I told Nong and Chaat, since it was my last night in Nan before moving onto Phu Lang Ka, that I would take them out for a drink at the Dhevaraj, the most prestigious hotel in the town. Chaat was especially excited about meeting Nancy, the young and attractive female singer who was performing at the hotel’s nightclub. Later that night both gentlemen showed up at my guesthouse on their motorbikes and we proceeded to the Dhevaraj. On the way, Nong confided to me that neither himself nor Chaat - both men had been born and raised in Nan - had ever been to the Dhevaraj nightclub before, let alone inside the hotel. When I asked why, Nong replied, “We have never been there before Hanu, because we are not of the higher class.” He was alluding to the primarily Chinese Thai patrons of the Dhevaraj who were from Chiang Mai and Bangkok. “Nonsense I said, you’re the equal to any of these people, don’t put yourself down.” I guess my words, made them feel less self-conscious about themselves as we went inside the lounge, shared two large Changs (Thai beers) as we proceeded to enjoy the Thai cabaret show that featured Nancy and a number of other singers.

From this experience, I guess you could say I learned something about class-consciousness among Thai people. Anyhow next time I go to NAN, I will look up Nong and Chaat again and take them out for another round of drinks at the Dhevaraj. Hopefully, Nancy (and some other ThAIgers) will be there to join us!

By all means, check out my initial report on Nan!

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Nan, a small, relatively obscure city located in the northeastern half of Thailand’s Golden Triangle. Lying in a valley surrounded by mountains, not too many travelers know about Nan as it is still off the beaten track. The rather long Nan River, which cuts through the valley as flows from the north to the south, is the city’s eastern perimeter. Further east is the country of Laos.

After a one-hour flight to Nan from Bangkok on PB Air, a regional carrier which services some of the smaller cities in Northern Thailand, I had chance to do a walking tour of town. A rather pleasant and quaint city with tree lined streets and rural country roads, Nan brought back memories of Turlock, a small sleepy river town located in California’s San Joaquin Valley that I last visited as a child in late 1950’s. Strange but true! According to the owner of the guesthouse where I stayed, there are about 50,000 people who live in the city of Nan. Although there are a couple of coffee shops - albeit no Starbucks – which cater to the tourist crowds, Nan seems to be relatively untainted by the excesses of Western Culture – there’s no McDonalds, KFC or the aforementioned Starbucks.

Nan has just handful of hotels and a somewhat greater number of guesthouses. The largest and most prestigious hotel (also the oldest) is the Dhevaraj Hotel. Located in the heart of the downtown area, the Dhevaraj is very popular with Thai tourists from Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Nightlife is very limited, although when I was there, the Dhevaraj had some live entertainment nightly. Nancy, a rather attractive 23-year-old lady who had recently graduated from a nearby University, was one of the featured female entertainers. Although she was also employed as a nurse in a local hospital, she moonlighted as a singer at the hotel. In addition to singing some of the more popular Thai love songs, Nancy also belted a pretty good version of San Francisco (Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair). For some reason, this song is very popular in Thailand!

Of course, like most cities in Thailand, Nan has its fare share of Buddhist temples (Wats) and shrines. There is also a fairly interesting regional museum located in Nan; unfortunately due to time constraints I didn’t have a chance to visit it. On my first day in town, I walked into Fhu Travel, the most reputable (and oldest) tour operator in the city and got set up with two all day excursions. Tour #1 was sort of a countryside nature tour by minibus which featured the bizarre Sao Din’s Earth pillars and some other scenic vistas. I had seen the earth pillars at Lalu in Sakaeo Province the year before so I wasn’t totally awestruck – in fact the earth pillars at Lalu were more impressive than the ones at Sao Din. At the end of tour, I had Nong (my tour guide extraordinaire) and Chaat (the driver), take me to the lookout point at Wat Prathat Chae Haeng, a venerable Buddhist Temple located on the outskirts of the city. Situated on a steep hill, the views of the city and the surrounding valley from this old temple are magnificent.

By car, Nan is about 4½ hours from Chiang Mai and about 8 hours from Bangkok. The most practical way to get there is to fly from Bangkok on PB Air like I did (1 hour flight), then take the bus or drive to Chiang Mai, with stops at the village of Phu Lang Ka and the city of Phayao. Plan to spend a minimum of week in the area!

It’s been a rocky start for CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES in 2009. While I was on my 30-day odyssey to Thailand and Malaysia not too long ago, I discovered that Calypso Island Chronicles (and our associated website) had been hijacked by some nasty malware. This hijacking caused traffic numbers to our blog to drop significantly as many of our readers/visitors were unable to access our site and read our new material. Needless to say, this act of cybervandalism caused me a lot of aggravation and grief. Because of the hijacking, I decided to temporarily halt the blogging effort as of January 1st until the culprit was eradicated.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief as it has been a couple of days that my webmaster – a young English bloke by the name of Paul who lives in the popular mountain resort of Pai in Northern Thailand - discovered a way to extricate the culprit (bug) from the site and banish it into the nether reaches of cyberspace. The details of this hijacking and how you can protect your website from being vandalized by this insidious type of malware will be treated in a subsequent blogpost. Now that CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES has been debugged, we will commence our blogging effort on a variety of travel topics and issues. In particular, in the next couple of months we will feature many stories, anecdotes and memories from our recent excursion to THAILAND AND MALAYSIA. For a sneak preview of upcoming stories in CALYPSO ISLAND CHRONICLES, read on…

• A day at the Beauty Salon – how I was worked over by four ladies at my favorite beauty salon in Bangkok
• Excursion to the Moslem village of Nong Chok – interesting visit to a small rural Moslem community located just 70KM outside of Bangkok
• More Snippets from Bangkok – anecdotes, tips and random observations while stationed in Thailand’s fascinating capital city
• An eerie rendezvous with Mother Teresa, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse Tung – a visit to the Hall of Fame, the fascinating Wax museum at the Siam Cultural Center in Ratchaburi Province



• The Starbucks Index - the cultural impact of STARBUCKS in Thailand and Malaysia
• A pleasant Saturday excursion to the 100 Year Market – colorful outdoor Thai market, a popular weekend outing for Bangkokians
• THAIger very dangerous, eat money – a rollicking adventure in NAN in Northern Thailand featuring my amiable tour guides, Nong and Chaat
• Highlights of Nan – featuring the earth dunes of Sao Din, the Thai Hibachi factory and a visit to a Mlabri village, the most primitive and poorest hilltribe people in Thailand



• The Terracotta Lady – profile of the wonderful lady who owns Mae Pundin Guesthouse, an eclectic hostelry near Chiang Mai which features ceramic making and Thai Cooking classes
• The Plant Man – Profile of one of Thailand’s premier horticulturalists and owner of Udom Gardens and Nursery in Ratchaburi Province
• The View – commentary on the heavenly views at Phu Lang Ka, Phayao Province in Northern Thailand. Out of this world!
• Passport of Pan Hu and the Yao People – While I was Phu Lang Ka, I had the opportunity to learn about the origins and history of the Yao people



• Special Memorial Tribute to Princess Galyani by the Hmong and Yao people of Phu Lang Ka – One of the most heartwarming experiences that I have ever had as a traveler
• The ruination of MELAKA – how modern development threatens to destroy the old world colonial charm of this popular tourist town in Malaysia
• Snippets from Chiang Mai – includes a stroll through the famous night Bazaar, outrageous T-Shirts, a weird experience at Whole Earth Restaurant and more!
• Snippets from Cameron Highlands – random observations and tips about this popular hill resort in Malaysia including recommended places for dining



• Lulu, the best masseuse this side of Beijing – profile of a very talented lady in Cameron Highlands. I miss her magic touch
• The search for the legendary Jim Thompson - highlights of a most memorable all day tour in Cameron Highlands featuring a muddy 3 hour hike through the rainforest to the world’s largest flower
• Snippets from LANGKAWI – random observations and travel commentary on Malaysia’s most popular beach resort.
• Dine around Plan in Langkawi – A review of my favorite places for dining in this popular Malaysian beach resort
Sphere: Related Content

On New Years Day, I lie in bed reflecting on the past year in the life a traveler. In light of the global recession and economic downturn, 2008 was a very rough year for many people including your truly. There were far less travelers taking to the seas and the skies than in years gone by, and trips were a lot shorter in duration and closer to home.
But for this traveler, hard times wasn’t able to keep me grounded as exploring the world and traveling is what keeps me alive and defines me as a person - I AM A TRAVELER. That is MY LIFE and what I lack in monetary wealth, I make up in the richness and experience that travel brings.

In 2008, I consider myself fortunate to have made two trips....

In April, I returned to La Manzanilla aka My Secret Paradise on Mexico’s Costa Alegre. A relatively small and unpretentious beach town located 1 hour north of Manzanillo, not much had changed from a year ago but the economic downturn in the USA and Canada resulted in far less visitors. Looking down the two mile beach, I observed that there were far fewer Mexican tourists in the area over the popular All Saints Holidays compared to last year. Most of the Gringos I met were either snowbirders (winter residents) or were scouting the area to buy some property or start construction on their new vacation home. As usual, I had a quiet relaxing time - in the mornings, I would blog at El Girasol Café over breakfast and in the afternoons, take a siesta or read a book on the beach.

On November 11, I took off to Thailand and Malaysia in Southeast Asia for one month. I had a wonderful experience overall - I visited many new places and met a lot of interesting people. I was on the go the whole time and did not have more than 3-4 days of downtime. I have so many outstanding memories from this trip, it would be so very difficult to discuss all of them at this time. But if I had to choose the most memorable experience from my recent trip, it had to be witnessing a special memorial tribute by the Yao and Hmong Hilltribes to the recently departed Princess Galyani, the revered older sister of The King of Thailand. This tribute was staged on November 24 at a small community school near the village of Pong in Phayao Province, Northern Thailand, more than one week after an extravagant 4 day national tribute was held in Bangkok. This had to be the most heartwarming experience that I’ve had as a traveler.

In a more humorous vein, I was attacked by an invisible bamboo while hiking in the rainforests of the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. This encounter resulted in a very nasty gash on the top of my left hand. As the wound was infected, I went to the local hospital at Tanah Ratah the following day to have it cleaned out and stitched up. Presiding over the minor surgical procedure was a young man by the name of Mr. Amri, who I later learned was just a medical assistant. As he performed the operation, he gave sort of a running commentary of the procedure in Malay language to the four young female interns who were in the operating room. Looking at their dog tags, I discovered that they were all from the same college in Kuala Lumpur. In the meantime, I alternately winked, grimaced and smiled at the young ladies who didn’t really know what to make of this strange foreign patient. The WOUND STORY didn’t end right there, as I had to go to a local hospital in Bangkok at the tail end of my trip (Dec. 9-12) for three consecutive days to have the stitches taken out, the wound recleaned and dressed.

On the day I arrived home in San Francisco safe and sound (December 12), I went to my local Kaiser Medical clinic to have a Doctor look at the wound. When I showed her a digital picture of my hand after the surgery was performed in Malaysia, she shook her head in dismay and said “The good news is that the infection is contained and you will live to die another day, but because of the poor stitching job you’ll be left with a permanent albeit small scar/souvenir”. Upon hearing this, I laughed and said “No problem - I can add this new souvenir to the ones that I have already collected from Thailand and Costa Rica.”

Happy Trails Everyone. Have a healthy and prosperous New Year

Farangs, like myself, rarely hire a motorbike taxi to take us anyplace in Bangkok as it is considered very dangerous – these daredevils on wheels are known to be somewhat reckless as they weave in and out of traffic. Furthermore most of the drivers do not provide their passengers with a crash helmet. It is not unusual to see these guys driving their vehicle on the sidewalk (sometime with passengers), as they hurry to stay ahead of the traffic on clogged Bangkok thoroughfares. On more than one occasion, I have been walking on the sidewalk along the Sukhumvit, a main road in uptown Bangkok, only to have to dodge a motorcycle taxi coming directly at me. WTF? I know of many bargirls who wear permanent souvenir(s) on their bodies - usually on an arm or leg – as a result of being involved in a motorbike accident.

Regular taxis are a safer option, albeit slower option. The meter rate for a taxi starts at 35 baht (about 1.00USD) – very cheap - and increases by 1 baht per for every 3-5 minutes, while motorbike taxis are even cheaper yet, costing a mere 20 baht for a short trip but oh so dangerous. 97% of the time, I will take a taxi all things being equal. However every now and then, when I’m in an extreme hurry and traffic is really choked up, I will take gamble and roll the dice by hiring a motorbike taxi.

On my last night in Bangkok, I took such a chance - I had a farewell dinner date at 7:30PM with Khun Moongmink at a small vegetarian restaurant on Soi 26 near the Sukhumvit and it was very important that I not be late. Standing outside the President Park Hotel (Sukhumvit Soi 22/24) at 7:10PM, I surveyed the traffic conditions - even though I was only 1.5 miles away from my destination, I realized I would never make it on time by taxi. The choice was to incur the wrath of Moongmink for being late or risk life and limb by taking a motorbike taxi. Choosing the lesser of two evils, I had the bellman at President Park hook me up with the best motorbike taxi that he could find and I told him to inform the driver that I would give him a big tip if he got me to my destination, safe and sound.

Looking at my watch as I hopped on to the motorbike seat, it was exactly 7:17PM when we departed. Sure enough, the driver took some short cuts, weaved in and out traffic and got me to my destination at 7:25PM in one piece. As I hopped off the bike, I waiied the driver and thanked him in Thai, handing him 40 baht and motioning with my hands for him to keep the change. As I ambled into the restaurant, I made a prayer to the Great Buddha in the Sky for my safe deliverance.

I’m sure you’ve encountered some obnoxious (and toxic) tourists during your travels. They stick out like a sore thumb with their insensitive, loud and vulgar ways and they make it more difficult for all of us. While passing the time in a small rural village in places like Thailand, Peru or Mexico, I’ve seen many a American lady parading through the village as if they were a runway model in a fashion show - wearing some skimpy outfit revealing as much flesh as possible - totally oblivious to the local customs of land. In most non-westernized countries, it is frowned upon when a woman bares too much skin. Modesty is the rule of thumb. It seems that these ladies want to show the world how they sexy they are - can you believe these women get incensed when the local men stare at them lustfully? Why can’t these ladies just some wear some slacks or a long dress?

In Thailand’s Pattaya, a popular beach resort especially for sex tourists, I’ve seen middle aged guys prowling for female companionship in the heart of tourist zone with no shirts on and with their bellies hanging out, acting like complete louts and jackasses. Now I’m not a prude or anything, but couldn’t these guys at least wear a T-shirt and not talk so loud? So disgusting!

Many tourists (especially from the USA and Japan) could use a course in sensitivity training. They travel to a foreign country without making any attempt to learn something about the local customs and culture of the land. Even if they were to learn to a couple of standard phrases and greetings in the local language, it would go a long way towards international relations. Can you imagine that these western tourists get upset when the locals don’t understand or speak much English? In general, these tourists treat the hotel staff and the locals in a very condescending manner just because they paid a lot of monies for their vacation. Many of these so-called well-heeled tourists believe that the locals exit only for their personal entertainment. I’m sure you’ve head the expression, the Ugly American – unfortunately, it is a reputation that it is hard to shake as Americans can act as real insensitive jerks when traveling abroad.

Then we have the photo happy tourist who barges into a small rural village, taking picture after picture of the locals in their native garb as if they were some exotic wild animal, only to disappear into their car or tour bus 20 minutes later. I’m sure you’ve heard of the long necked ladies of the Karen Hilltribe in Thailand - there are organized excursions specifically for tourists who’d like to photograph the long necks. The tour operators who organize these tours make some big monies and the Longnecks receive what amounts to a small pittance. In Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site in Laos, tourists will position themselves at the entrance of one of the many Buddhist temples in the early morning hours to take pictures of the monks as they make their rounds. Many of these same tourists will forcefully enter the temple grounds and take pictures of religious ceremonies without permission.

Tourists can be an obnoxious bunch!